California Apparel News

LONDON—Ben Sherman, one of the United Kingdom’s top performing menswear brands, is targeting the U.S. market with an aggressive expansion strategy this year that includes a new flagship store in Southern California.

The young men’s brand, which had sales of approximately $135 million last year, is also stepping up its womenswear offering at the Feb. 13–16 run of MAGIC International.

The move comes four seasons after the brand’s U.S. debut and follows the appointment of Michael Buckley as chief executive officer of Ben Sherman USA last week.

Buckley, who has a strong retail and wholesale background, arrives at Ben Sherman from the New York office of Melvinia, Italy-based Diesel Jeans, where he served as U.S. vice president. The New York-based executive is in the process of setting up a new head-office infrastructure to drive sales across the country.

Buckley’s plans also include the launch of Ben Sherman’s first U.S. flagship store next year, which has been earmarked for Los Angeles, he said. The brand is currently in about 100 doors in Southern California, Buckley said. A second store is planned for New York, he added.

The company also plans to roll out retail stores in the U.K. and other overseas markets next year.

“There is a really fashion-forward market and better-brand presence in L.A.,” Buckley said. “We have penetrated some of the better-known specialty stores and that’s where we feel would be right to open our first store.” The U.S. is a key market and we need to have a greater presence and show people the full product range in our own retail environment.”

Buckley said he is scouting for suitable sites in California that can accommodate a 2,000-square-foot store in shopping areas such as the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica andSouth Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Buckley’s appointment could put a much-needed U.S. perspective on the brand’s positioning in the market. He said he plans to strengthen the T-shirts, bottoms and denim ranges.

“The brand’s got tremendous potential for growth, but the collection needs to be a little more unique than just the basics, which people can get from Polo and Nautica,” he said. “It’s got a great vintage 1960s archive that would give it different style. There is a huge market out there and we need to tell Americans about the Ben Sherman story.”

Meanwhile, Buckley said he is keen to address the issue of late deliveries, which became a bugbear with a number of the company’s accounts last season. A dedicated logistics manager will be appointed next month to work with the U.K. design and sourcing office to improve relationships with its U.S. wholesale customers, he said. “We want to have more control in planning out when customers want the goods delivered to them instead of waiting for all of our orders to come in before going into production,” he said.

Despite last season’s slight setback on deliveries, Buckley said sell-throughs were strong and orders with key accounts including Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and The Buckle have increased by 30 to 40 percent this season.

Ben Sherman, which has a strong presence in major department stores in the U.S., has been working to build its boutique business by targeting trade shows that draw specialty store retailers, including the last two runs of Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR).

The company, which has its largest U.S. distribution on the West Coast, sees the skate and surf market as important for expanding the line, Vince Gonzales, U.S. vice president sales and marketing at Ben Sherman, told the California Apparel News at ASR’s San Diego show last September.

Ben Sherman is in a total of 700 doors in the U.S. Wholesale accounts will continue to be handled by a network of agents but key accounts will be brought in-house, Buckley said. The company will continue to be represented on the West Coast by Los Angeles-based MK Sportswear, he said.

Ben Sherman will also continue to target a much more fashion-oriented customer in the U.S. in contrast to its home market, where Ben Sherman basics are the key sales drivers.

Ben Sherman Women’s on the Up

Ben Sherman will unveil an expanded womenswear line at the Feb. 13–16 run of MAGIC International in Las Vegas. The women’s line has doubled in size compared to Spring 2001, from just 70 pieces to 150, according to Michael Buckley, the company’s chief executive officer. There are currently 75 doors stocking the women’s line, 45 of which are in Southern California. The brand is looking to increase its womenswear presence after a trial run in Nordstrom this past season. Sue Webster, a former merchandising director at U.K.-based contemporary brand French Connection, has been directing the womenswear design team for the past six months. Webster, a 25-year veteran of the womenswear business, has refocused the collection and her influence will be seen in the Fall 2001 designs, according to the company. The complete fashion-led collection focuses on its core shirts, shirt dresses and a new range of sexy Lycra tops and skirts.